This morning saw me getting my 2nd Osprey of the year ! this one was seen on the Exe Estuary viewed from Exton Station but it was a long way down the estuary close to Starcross , there was also 3 Little Egret and 20+ Common House Martin .
I then had a look at Bystock Pond where there was 2 European Green Woodpecker , a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a large Common Carp , the next stop was at Woodbury Castle to look for Spotted Flycatcher but I was out of luck with none seen today , but there was a Garden Warbler , a Blackcap and a Common Chiffchaff .
Tuesday, 31 May 2016
Saturday, 28 May 2016
Lammergeier
A trip up to Dartmoor this morning saw us on the moor near Merrivale looking for the immature Lammergeier again and we spent five and a half hours there without having any luck , we then headed off to look at other areas of the moor , we were heading towards the Warren House Inn when we pulled into a small car park to check on line for any bird news and as it was we met up with another bird photographer Gray Clements and he was telling me about a Common Cuckoo that he had photographed when all of a sudden his wife got out of their car and said what is that bird above us , as Gray and I looked up at the bird to my amazement my eyes logged onto the Lammergeier , I only had a brief time and I mean brief !!! to take in the size of the bird with a huge wingspan and that superb looking tail before it vanished from sight over the hill , it then turned out that Grays wife who is not a birder had been watching the bird for around 10 minutes when he was off getting shots of the Cuckoo but didn`t have a clue what she was looking at !!! we then went back to tell the other birders that were still at Merrivale about the sighting but the bird just seemed to have vanished again over the moor just like it has done before .
Thursday, 26 May 2016
The Great Haldon Forest
Today I had a look in various destinations around the Great Haldon Forest on the edge of Exeter and I saw the following birds , 5 Male and 2 Female & a few Juvenile Eurasian Siskin , 2 Woodlark , a Tree Pipit , a Common Whitethroat and 3 Common Raven .
Also seen were the following Butterflies , Pearl-Bordered Fritillary , Grizzled Skipper , Dingy Skipper , Brimstone , Large White , Orange Tip and Speckled Wood .
Also seen were the following Butterflies , Pearl-Bordered Fritillary , Grizzled Skipper , Dingy Skipper , Brimstone , Large White , Orange Tip and Speckled Wood .
Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Dalmation Pelecan
Today Ken Montandon , Brian Heasman and myself made the trip down to Cornwall to look for a Dalmation Pelican that has been seen for a while in Cornwall but in different locations making it hard to catch up with , but last night it went to roost on the Drift Reservoir so there was our chance , we left home at 5.30 am in hope that this first for Britain would be showing when we got there and our worries were soon blown away and after a bit of a walk to the far end of the reservoir we ended up getting superb views of the bird ! also seen were 8 Red Kite and this Black Kite , also seen were a few Common Swift , after that we had a quick look at the Marazion Marsh where we saw up to 5 Grey Heron before heading for home .
Sunday, 22 May 2016
Damselflies
We have had a good purple patch of birding on the Exminster Marshes but at this moment it has gone dead !!! so I decided to go over and look for Damselflies and I didn`t do bad , but lets hope the birding picks up again soon !
Friday, 20 May 2016
Wednesday, 18 May 2016
Dead !!!
I went over to the Exminster Marshes again this morning but I didn`t see anything to make me dance and sing lol with only a few Common Swift , Barn Swallow and Common Sand Martin , on the warbler front Cetti`s Warbler , European Reed Warbler , Sedge Warbler , Common Whitethroat and Blackcap were seen , other things of note seen today were Speckled Wood Butterfly ( My first of the year ) , Common Shrew and a Slow Worm .
I then had a look at the Powderham Marshes were I saw numerous Canada Geese , 5 Greylag Geese , a Little Ringed Plover and 7 Northern Lapwing .
I then had a look at the Powderham Marshes were I saw numerous Canada Geese , 5 Greylag Geese , a Little Ringed Plover and 7 Northern Lapwing .
Tuesday, 17 May 2016
Lammergeier
I spent late afternoon yesterday up on Dartmoor looking for a reported juvenile Lammergeier a first for England as the bird was found a few days ago in South Wales making it the first for Britain but as with everyone else there I had no luck , but the bird was seen earlier in the day by local birder John Gale ( Lucky sod ) ! so my mate Brian Heasman and myself went up again today for another look , we went to the Warren House area where most of the other 50+ birders had decided to assemble .
Again there was no sign of the bird in poor weather , but there was a few birds seen with a few Whinchat , a male and female Common Cuckoo , a distant Ring Ouzel , a male Northern Wheatear and a very distant Red Kite , Dartmoor is a vast area so the bird could be anywhere just waiting to be found again !!!!!!!
Again there was no sign of the bird in poor weather , but there was a few birds seen with a few Whinchat , a male and female Common Cuckoo , a distant Ring Ouzel , a male Northern Wheatear and a very distant Red Kite , Dartmoor is a vast area so the bird could be anywhere just waiting to be found again !!!!!!!
Sunday, 15 May 2016
Wood Sandpiper
Not a lot to report today as I only went to the Exminster Marshes early this morning to look for a reported Wood Sandpiper from yesterday , and the bird was still showing but was only seen at a distance from one of the viewing screens but better views than none at all lol .
Saturday, 14 May 2016
Great Spotted Cuckoo
A trip up to Dorset today to look for the 1st summer Great Spotted Cuckoo that was found at Reap Lane yesterday and the bird showed very well for most of the day flying from a row of trees to some bushes to feed on caterpillars , this was my 4th in Britain since my first one back in 1990 at Dawlish Warren , also seen were 2 Spotted Flycatcher and a female Common Redstart all seen in glorious weather !! , the day was finished off at Broadcroft Quarry where the following Butterflies were seen , 2 Small Blue ( Britain`s smallest Butterfly ) and a Dingy Skipper .
Friday, 13 May 2016
Another good morning on the marsh !
I had a call this morning telling me that there was a male Garganey showing on the Exminster Marshes so I got to the marsh quite early and got to see not one but two male birds but once again they were well out onto the marsh , I then walked down and had another look at the adult Purple Heron and got this distant shot of it again ( Promise this will be the last one unless it comes closer lol ) there was also a Eurasian Hobby sat on one of the post and then the bird of the day went through the marsh and over Exminster Village .. a nice Red Kite .
Thursday, 12 May 2016
Purple Heron still on site !
Yesterdays adult Purple Heron was still showing around the reservoir on the Exminster Marshes today so it was still quite distant , 2 Eurasian Hobby were also showing well along with a Peregrine Falcon , also seen were the following , Cetti`s Warbler , Eurasian Reed Warbler , Sedge Warbler , Common Whitethroat , Common Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler , 5 Barn Swallow and a few male and female Orange Tip Butterflies , and on Powderham Marsh a Little Ringed Plover showed but was very distant as usual .
Wednesday, 11 May 2016
Purple Heron
Here are a couple of distant record shots of the adult Purple Heron seen today on the Exminster Marshes , I am sorry about the quality but I was lucky to get any shots at all of this new bird for the Exe Estuary for me seeing the severe distance the bird was at and the poor weather conditions , also seen were 2 Eurasian Hobby .
Tuesday, 10 May 2016
Another quick look at the marshes !
An early look at Bowling Green Marsh and the 3 male and a female Ruff were still on show along with 12 Whimbrel , a Great Black-Backed Gull and a Cetti`s Warbler , I then went across to the Exminster Marshes for a look but didn`t see anything unusual with 12 European Reed Warbler , 4 Sedge Warbler , 2 Common Whitethroat , a male Blackcap , a Common Chiffchaff and 10 Barn Swallow .
Monday, 9 May 2016
Garden Warbler
A trip out to Yarner Wood this morning got me 8 Pied Flycatcher , 5 Wood Warbler , a male and female Common Redstart , 4 Mistle Thrush and singles of European Green Woodpecker , Great Spotted Woodpecker and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker .
I then went up to the heath were I saw 3 Willow Warbler ( including this dullish looking bird ) , my first Garden Warbler of the year , 4 Meadow Pipit , 2 Tree Pipit 2 Common Linnet and 3 Common Raven .
I then went up to the heath were I saw 3 Willow Warbler ( including this dullish looking bird ) , my first Garden Warbler of the year , 4 Meadow Pipit , 2 Tree Pipit 2 Common Linnet and 3 Common Raven .
Sunday, 8 May 2016
Common Cuckoo
A look at the Exminster Marshes this morning didn`t get me a lot of birds with the best being a Common Cuckoo a bird that goes against its name and is not that common on the marsh ! also seen were a few Barn Swallow and Common House Martin , 4 Common Whitethroat and a Cetti`s Warbler , as well as the birds these Butterflies were seen Green-Veined White , Orange Tip and Brimstone , also a Short-Tailed Vole and a baby Grass Snake , across the railway line on the Powderham Marsh side a Lesser Whitethroat was heard singing .
